Coastal hiking from Whitby to Saltwick Bay | England

This hike is a MUST DO if you are in Whitby or the North York Moors National Park area. It’s just THAT PRETTY. The trail is officially called the Cleveland Way National Trail and runs 109 miles along the park and coast. You can hike sections of it if you are limited on time. Probably the most walked section is that from Whitby to Robin Hood’s Bay.

The trail around Whitby starts across from the Abbey and heads South along the coast to Robin Hood’s Bay. Being the adventurous hikers that we are, Simon and I set out one afternoon and attempted the hike. It takes about 6.5-7 miles and 2.5 hours or so to get to Robin Hood’s Bay from Whitby. We ended up walking to Saltwick Bay, and headed into a restaurant to get an estimate of how much further we had to go. Sadly, we were told that we had a few miles left and that the last bus back to Whitby would have already gone by the time we would finally reach Robin Hood’s bay. We weren’t prepared for that, or an evening hike back, and sadly had to turn around. (That’s what we get for setting out so late and thinking the 2.5hours was roundtrip!!).

Saltwick Bay

The path follows along the cliff edge affording ocean views and gorgeous scenery. You can also see where erosion has occurred and new fencing had to be put up (yikes!).

The coast is gorgeous, with lots of sea birds and dramatic views.

We went over the fence at one point and headed down onto an old path to the shore. It was a beautiful side trip- we spent almost an hour down there walking around and taking in views.

This was my favorite part of our Whitby vacation. I just can’t get enough of views like this!